ON THIS DAY

79AD: Long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died.

1949: The North Atlantic Treaty comes into force.

1954: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

1968: France becomes the world’s fifth thermonuclear power as it explodes a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

1981: Mark David Chapman is sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon

1992: Hurricane Andrew smashes into Florida, causing $30 billion in damage and killing 43.

Birthdays: Kenny Baker, British actor (Star Wars) (1934-2016); Stephen Fry, British author and actor (1957-); Marlee Matlin, US actress (1965-).